The Reploids of the Late Master Thomas Book Two
by Hellbat Schilt
Summary: The pawns of the Assassin Hunters are moving. Plans are beginning to emerge from unlikely opponents, ones that no one had anticipated. Saphire, Kuru, Kemnee, and the small band of Assassins now strive to prepare to take the Assassin Hunters down.
1. Hanging Out with Kids

"Kuru?" Tommy asked as he knocked on the door.

"Are you sure they're awake?" one of the kids next to him asked.

"We'll find out," Tommy whispered back. "You there? Do you wanna play tag with small teams?"

The one that opened the door was Kuru, Saphire out cold on her bed.

"Come on in, Tommy. Just don't mess with my sister, she's still got a bit to do till she's in tip-top shape." She smiled brightly, though with just a hint of fatigue still there.

"Is something wrong?" Tommy asked as he and the twelve other kids walked in.

"She's being careful," Kuru said as she watched the little kids, stifling a laugh as they looked at her with energetic eyes. "Oh, and we can play tag. That'd be great! I just need to know how far around the base this is going to be, so I can leave her a message. She worries too much." She sat down and patted her bed, indicating for the kids to make themselves comfortable.

"Wow. She's as pretty as he said," one of the boys whispered to another boy next to Tommy.

Kuru concealed a smile and asked, "Now then, what are the rules to this game?"

"Rules are, you can't kill anyone," Tommy said as he hopped onto the bed. "We can use all of the levels of the building except restricted buildings, which includes the hanger." Tommy thought about it for a second before shaking his head. "Nah. We'll just use this level, the level above us, and the level below us. Also, no special powers." He grinned widely, thinking about when he had used it on their first game. "If that was the case, I could hide forever with my cloaking and wall-climbing abilities."

"Lets set up teams!" one of the boys exclaimed impatiently.

"Okay! Jordan and Kuru! You're on my team!" Tommy said as he rubbed his hands together.

"No fair!" one of the girls pouted. "She's got longer legs than us!"

Tommy hid his grin. That's what he wanted anyway. To be alone. There were things he needed to explain. "Fine. It'll just be Kuru and I."

"Let's go! Jacob, Robert, and Bobby. You're it!"

"You better run!" Robert exclaimed as he and Bobby counted down, helping Jacob, an eight year old, count on his fingers.

"Come on, Kuru!" Tommy said as he grabbed her by the wrist and led her away.

Kuru smiled as he led her along to a janitor's closet. He quickly moved some stuff out of the way before nimbly climbing onto a shelf and perching on it.

"Your turn," Tommy said with a smile.

Kuru smiled and climbed onto the shelf, Tommy closing the door behind her.

"Good choice. I would _never_ look in here," Kuru said, smiling lightly.

"Here goes," Tommy thought as he inched closer to Kuru and whispered, "Life here has actually been better ever since Ike got here." Only a little bit... "Before, this place used to operate like Drow society in books. If someone was higher than you, you killed them and gained an advancement. That was under our current leader's rule. Ike somehow changed his way of thinking and it has been better. Only thing about Ike is that he's ruthless and aggressive, not tolerating rebellion. Marth is more of the gentle person. If Ike dies, who'll protect us from the Commander? Marth can rival Ike in a fight, but the fight might become very one-sided if the Commander holds all of the employee's life on the line if Marth doesn't submit to his will."

Tommy watched as Kuru seemed to contemplate what he had said. He looked away into the darkness of the closet, waiting for something to be said or for them to get caught.

"Kuru? Tommy? Jamie's it!" one of the kids exclaimed.

Tommy leapt down, remembering that there was a janitor's cart below him at the last second. He splashed inside, his shins catching the edge.

"Ow!" he exclaimed as he pushed the door open and climbed out. He moved the cart away and grinned at Kuru. "Watch yourself."

"Thanks for the warning," Kuru said as she hopped down lightly.

Tommy tilted his head. Did she mean more by that?

"Ike's kinda like sis in that way," Kuru explained quietly.

Tommy paused as he started to walk down the hall. "Really?" he asked, but he knew secrets that she didn't know. Maybe later...

"Come on, Tommy!" Jamie exclaimed as she bowed her head against a wall. "We're ready to count!"

Tommy grinned. No time for frowning. "Okay, Kuru! You choose the place this time! Just stay out of the labs."

Kuru grinned as she seemed to look off into the distance, making Tommy slightly uneasy.

"Anyway," he whispered, hoping to break her trance, "I think Ike just has a mean personality, but I don't think I can compare Saphire and Ike. I guess I haven't really been around Saphire that much."

Kuru stopped in front of a room and smiled. "She's cold on the outside, but that's just cuz she's always been protecting me. Since I was first activated, at least. Honestly, since I've been around darker personalities a lot I think he just doesn't know how to communicate. Seem's like he's really not that bad... but I've learnt to judge people based on actions instead of words." She smirked and Tommy raised an eyebrow slightly but left it alone.

"So this is the place?" Tommy asked as he looked over the room's door. "It's kinda obvious."

"That's why it's perfect. No-one would guess we were in one of the common rooms," she told him, winking happily.

Tommy stood in front of the door for a second before shrugging. "I guess it would work. They'd probably get tired of searching every room. Let's do it!"

Tommy quietly pushed door open as the occupant of the room looked over the book he was reading at Tommy.

"At it again, eh?" the man asked as his eyes wandered back to the book.

"Yep! Don't rat on us, okay?" Tommy said as he rolled under the bed.

The man grunted and raised an eyebrow confusedly at Kuru before returning to his book.

"Never thought I'd seen a teen playing this game," he muttered.

Kuru giggled as she closed the door. "Well, it is fun." She walked around, looking for a good place to hide, and climbed into the man's closet as kids ran past the door. "And besides, I didn't get to play this as a newborn."

The man grunted and Kuru closed the door. Tommy waited under his bed, keeping his breath quiet and slow. It wasn't long before another kid burst into the room.

"Chandler, my lad, what're you doing here?" the man asked.

"I'm hiding!" Chandler whispered as he hid behind a lampstand. "Don't tell them I'm here!"

Tommy tensed. Great. Why, out of all the rooms, did Chandler have to choose this one? Oh well. Jamie threw the door open.

"I was following Chandler, but I lost him. Is he in here?" Jamie asked.

Chandler giggled and Jamie rushed over and pulled him out from behind the lampstand, both of them squealing and giggling.

"Gotchya! Now help me find the others!"

Chandler looked over to the man and asked, "Have you seen anyone?"

The man shrugged and Chandler looked around the room for a while as Jamie left. Tommy held his breath as Chandler looked around the man's chair, only releasing it when Chandler walked over to the bathroom.

"Wait a minute," Chandler said as he walked back over.

He peeked under the bed and he and Tommy squealed and giggled as Chandler pulled him out.

"Help me find the other kids, okay?" Chandler said as he dashed out of the room.

"Okay!" Tommy said as he searched around for Kuru. "Kuru?" he asked as he opened the closet. "Come on! We've gotta catch the others!"

Kuru dropped lightly from her perch in the closet and followed Tommy as he and her found the kids until all of them were caught.

"Should we play a board game?" Tommy asked the others as they gathered back together.

"Chess!"

"Dolls!"

"D&D!"

"Maybe we could play Settlers of Raphstar? Then Saphire could play too!" Tommy suggested.

The kids nodded their agreement and Kuru silently giggled. Kids.

"Kuru? I'm going to my room to get my set and expansion. We can't play it in my room 'cause it's too small. Can we use yours?" Tommy said.

Kuru shrugged. "Sure. I don't see why not. Just as long as Saphire's done."

"Okay. You check on her and we'll meet back together next to your room," Tommy said before breaking into a run down the halls.

Kuru nodded and walked away back into her room, forming data of what Tommy had told her about Ike. At least the kids were in a good mood here. They didn't know anything else, but at least they didn't have to fear assassination. Saphire woke up as she entered and sat up a little as Kuru looked worriedly at her. Saphire raised an eyebrow, most likely meaning that she got the attachment of Ike's data. Abruptly, she sat up.

"_Ike STOPPED the assassinations?"_ Saphire said, her ping clearly conveying her surprise.

"_I guess so,"_ Kuru replied, feeling the shift in Saphire's attitude about him. Well, considering shifting her stance about him.

Saphire nodded. "I'll have to cool-down soon, but I have time for whatever it is you want."

Cool-down was when they shut down their sometimes-hyper cores and ran on excess power before the extra energy could melt components. That way, they could repair anything that _was_ damaged. Usually, they didn't need to do this often. About once a year. But the way that things were going, it would probably be more often. Their energy levels always seemed to increase when they were in combat.

"Good, then can you join me and the kids playing a game?" Kuru asked.

Saphire nodded with a huff, making Kuru smile unnoticeably. Of course she couldn't say no to her.

It wasn't long before the kids came tumbling through the door. Literally crawling over each other in their attempts to get in first.

"Hey! Leggo my ear!"

"Ow! My eye! Stop it!"

"Stop stepping on my hand!"

"Ouch! Don't bite me!"

"Sorry! Your ear got in my mouth as I was trying to say something!"

One of the kids actually managed to get over the lump easily, his appearance somewhat nerdy looking. He set down his expansion of the game as Tommy slid the rest of the game out from under the pile of kids. Kuru and Saphire concealed their laughter as the kids' fight continued. The boy set up the game as was needed.

"Have you played this before?" the boy asked. "The Settlers of Raphstar?"

Saphire and Kuru shook their heads as the mob of kids finally settled down and got into an organized circle around the board.

"Sorry for being a little later than it would have taken me," Tommy said, grinning shyly slightly. "I had to do something."

"Don't worry about it," Saphire said as she waved it off.

Tommy looked over the board carefully. "We need another expansion. Anyone else got one?" Tommy said.

The nerdy kid looked around before slowly raising his hand.

"You have one, Joule?" Tommy asked with a smile. Joule nodded. "Do you mind getting it for us?" Joules nodded again.

"Do you... mind if... Well, if I use my power? I need to get better at it," Joules said.

Tommy smiled. "Sure, I don't mind."

Joule closed his eyes and breathed steadily as Saphire and Kuru waited, a little curious as to what his power was. Before long, another expansion set came hovering through the doorway and setting itself on the ground. Joule opened his eyes and smiled as he opened it up and started to set the expansion onto the already expanded set.

"_That could be handy,"_ Saphire said as she thought about the uses for that power.

"Awesome job, Joule!" Tommy said, smiling approvingly.

Joule chuckled nervously. "It's nothing, really."

"So, can you teach us how you play?" Kuru inquired.

"Sure thing," Tommy said, nodding.

The next couple of hours passed by as the rules were explained and the game was played.

"Tommy, you need to go on your next mission. Find a target and come back," Ike announced on the PA.

Tommy sighed as he finished his turn. "Sorry, guys. I've gotta go."

The other kids groaned as Tommy left. Saphire frowned slightly. Seriously, Ike?

"Saphire and Kuru," Ike began.

"_Who would've thought?"_ Saphire pinged sarcastically.

"Your next assignment is that you need to go to Washington D.C. tomorrow and pick up a program for us. Saphire, do not attempt to hack into it. Strictly confidential."

Saphire sighed. Stupid confidentiality junk. She could hunt for what it was without opening it, but this gave her the perfect opportunity to free Okami's sister.

"Understood, sir," Saphire said, somewhat defeatedly. Why she sounded like that, she didn't know.

The kids stood up with a groan, the game almost finished. "It's getting late anyway," one of them said as they packed the game into the boxes. "Thanks for playing with us, though."

"Yeah! Thanks, Saphire and Kuru! We should do it again!"

"Totally!" Kuru said as they shut the door behind them. "Bye!"

The two of them sat silently until Saphire got up, preparing for her cool-down.

"Night, Kuru," she said as she lain down on her bed. "Restart the core when it's time to leave."

Kuru nodded as she got on her own bed. Morning would come soon enough.


	2. Program Mission

Saphire and Kuru woke up to a knock on their door, Saphire checking her clock before sitting up. Five o' clock in the morning...

"Saphire. Time for you and the other girl to wake up," a voice growled.

Saphire got up, still tired from the cool-down, and opened the door as Kuru got up from her bed.

"Seriously?" she asked. "Five o' clock in the morning?"

The teenager grinned, running his hand through his black hair that had red stripes running through it.

"Ike's orders," Shadow said as he turned around and led them down the hall. "Follow me."

He led them down into the hanger that held their Ride Chasers and stopped.

"I'm supposed to escort you to the airport," Shadow said coldly, snarling slightly. "From there, you'll be flown to Washington D.C.. The program that we seek is in a level below the Constitution. Its codename is 'Efekuto puroguramu'. You'll want to hide the blades in your wrist."

Saphire and Kuru complied with shifting the blades back into their wrists, Saphire keeping her emotions flat. She didn't like him one bit. He sounded so angry, as though he hated them. It'd have to wait, though.

"Take these and get on your Chasers," Shadow growled as he handed them two pairs of white gloves.

They took the gloves and got on their Chasers as Shadow mounted his own, a sleek black one with red stripes. Saphire suppressed the urge to disobey his orders. The Ride Chaser would take her and Kuru with him anyway. Shadow blasted off down the tunnel, Saphire waiting for the same thing to happen.

"What's with this?" she asked as she searched the Ride Chaser's control panel. Funny. The auto-pilot wasn't set. She grinned. It'd be the perfect chance for her and Kuru to escape. She hesitated as her grin faded away. Except that they could blow her and Kuru up in a second. She sighed and followed Shadow reluctantly.

"WHAA!" she yelled as she banked hard to avoid hitting a wall in the passage that normally wasn't there. "What the hack?"

"_Careful, sis,"_ Kuru said playfully.

Saphire chuckled and continued on, following this new passage. If this was a trap, then the Assassin Hunters wouldn't be the last ones to laugh. She tensed her muscles and kept them tense as they went through the passage. The sun suddenly burst out in its full glory as they entered an almost vacant street in the city. Finally, she relaxed as she followed Shadow down to the airport.

Shadow dismounted at the airport, Saphire and Kuru doing the same and following him into a jet. Apparently a private one from the lack of other people in it. Saphire and Kuru made themselves comfortable and Saphire started to make sure that her system was working as Shadow and the pilot talked with each other. It would take a while to check everything, though. About as long as the flight took. If she skipped that step, she might not be able to move if anything _was_ wrong. That had happened before.

"Good luck," Shadow said as he left the plane.

"_Good riddance,"_ Saphire pinged.

"_He might be a nice guy once we get to know him,"_ Kuru suggested.

"_True, but first impressions are everything."_

"Hi! I'm Roy, your pilot!" Roy called over his shoulder. "I'll be taking you to your destination. After three days of our arrival, I'll be taking off. So if you're not back by then... well, stinks to be you. After you get off, take the taxi with the number twenty-nine."

"_Even the pilot doesn't like us."_

Slowly, the engines of the jet whirred to life, Roy going over the standard procedures of taking off. Saphire closed her eyes to take care of watching her system but still aware of what was happening.

It didn't seem to take too long before they were landing on the ground. Saphire finished checking her system as the skidding of the wheels slowly got less frequent and got up along with Kuru.

"Don't forget your bags," Roy said as he pointed to two bags by him.

"Thanks. What's in them?" Saphire said as she picked the blue one up.

"Just spare clothes," Roy said as he shrugged. "Have a nice day!"

Saphire and Kuru walked off the plane, a little conscientious of the small protrusion that the blade hid in. Even though the protrusion was covered by their gloves, it was noticeable if you had a trained eye. They walked outside and looked through the myriad of taxis that waited.

"Is it that one?" Kuru asked, pointing to a taxi with the number twenty-nine.

Saphire nodded and walked towards the taxi. It was a little dirty, but that didn't really matter. She had seen enough filth and been in it that it didn't bother her.

"Where to?" a blue-haired teenager asked with a smile as he poked his head out of the driver's side.

Saphire blinked, still a little bit sluggish, but much better than this morning. The Assassin Hunters hadn't told them how to get the program... that would call for some Recon work.

"_I guess we'll have to tour the city for today,"_ Saphire pinged, receiving a pinged nod from Kuru, Kuru already knowing what Saphire was planning from this tour.

Saphire ran her hand through her hair, hoping that whoever this kid was, he'd know what she meant. He looked confusedly at her and she suppressed a sigh.

She shrugged. "Why not give us the grand tour? Unless you have a better idea."

Kuru caught on and stretched, trying to signal to the kid about their blades. The boy looked at them quizzically.

"Uh, you wanna stop off at a hotel first?" he asked.

"Nah, we can take care of that later," Saphire replied, shrugging. "I came here for vacation, not to sit around in some room all day. Unless you want to, Kuru?"

"Okay, Sonic! I think I got it!" Tails said as he emerged from underneath the car. "Whoops! Sorry, ladies! Didn't see you there. I was just working on the car." Saphire nodded.

"No, I'm fine, sis," Kuru said. "Sightseeing seems fun!" She giggled slightly, waving hello at Tails.

"Miles will take the front seat," the boy, Sonic, said as Miles wiped off his hands. "Just don't get the seat dirty, all right, Tails?"

"That's what the towels are for," Miles said as he winked at Sonic.

"Pleasure to meet you, Miles," Saphire said, waving slightly.

Miles waved back at Saphire and Kuru tightly as he grinned shyly.

"Well, um, I guess I should open the door," Miles said as he opened the car door for Saphire and then for Kuru. Then he got into his own seat that was covered by towels. "Excuse me for the mess," Miles said with a shy grin.

"No problem," Saphire said as she waved it off. "Could we get that tour around the city?"

"Yep! Just hang tight," Sonic said as the engine revved.

"Oh boy. We're in for it now," Miles said.

"Just ignore him," Sonic said as he winked at Saphire and Kuru. "I won't speed this time. It is a tour after all."

Sonic drove around the city of Washington D.C., telling Saphire and Kuru the different memorials and buildings as well as some of their purposes. Most of which Saphire and Kuru already knew, but it was good to review it again to make a plan.

"And here we have our Regulator building!" Sonic said with a flourish as he parked the car next to the building. "Have you ever worked there before?"

"I actually do work for the Regulators," Saphire said as she shrugged. "I'm in the middle of changing branches, so I have time off."

She tweaked the Regulator's system so that the information that they had was that Saphire and Kuru were off setting up a new branch in a place that was relatively unknown. This was made before-hand, just in case she and Kuru ever escaped. Having to run so much taught her how to do that.

Sonic and Miles looked at each other and then looked back at the girls, making Saphire shift her weight defensibly.

"Are your names Saphire and Kuru?" Sonic finally asked.

"Yeah, why?" Saphire asked. "Something wrong?"

Sonic burst out laughing, making Saphire raise an eyebrow.

"Nah, it's okay, Saphire! I was just asking to see if you were the one that I was supposed to bring to the senate building. Anyway, this is Miles, but we use his codename, Tails." Miles smiled and waved at them. "My codename is Sonic, so it's not actually my name," he said, chuckling a little. "My real name is Mike. Shadow was the one giving me instructions about what to ask and to go to the Regulator's building."

"I see. So you were actually looking for us. Good acting," Saphire said, her face calm as Sonic pulled back out into the street.

"Thanks for the compliment," he said as he smiled. "Do you mind if we get something to eat?"

Saphire shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

Food wasn't a necessity, but water acted as a nice coolant, though their systems didn't reject food either.

Sonic drove by some museums, making a few comments on them as he passed. He drove past some restaurants before stopping at a small, slightly run-down fast food shack. He got out and opened Saphire's door while Miles opened Kuru's door.

"Miles and my favorite place," Sonic explained with a shy grin as he walked backwards towards the door. "Are you fine with it?"

"Doesn't bother me. Kuru?"

"I'm fine," Kuru said.

"Sweet! I'm going to order a chili dog. Anything you girls want in particular?" Sonic said.

"Water and whatever else you want for the two of us," Saphire said as they entered.

"Actually, can I get some juice?" Kuru asked and Saphire nodded.

"What can I get for ya?" a man in his twenties asked.

"Sure thing, Kuru!" Sonic said before turning to face the man. "Um, could we get one orange juice, a water, two root beets..."

"Root beets?" the man asked as he chuckled.

Sonic burst out laughing. "Sure, why not? No, scratch that. I meant root beers. And two chili dogs."

"So the usual plus a water and an orange juice, correct?" the man asked.

"And two salads!" Sonic added. "For the girls." He motioned towards Saphire and Kuru.

"Okay. A Sonic regular, two salads, a water, and an orange juice!" the man called over his shoulder.

"Hey, Saphire and Kuru, how about you find a place to sit down and I'll be over there when I'm done paying," Sonic suggested.

Saphire nodded and picked out a place. They waited until Sonic and Tails walked over with the food before any conversation started, if that was going to happen.

"Okay. So, is there anything you need for your mission?" Sonic asked after a quick check for anyone that might be listening. "We can get you assault rifles, grenades, you name it. I'd have to clear it, but I could probably get you just about anything. Do you have a plan for getting through the Senate building to get below the Constitution?"

Saphire tilted her head thoughtfully. "I need two hours in the building before we start, and some suits. Something that makes us look like we're part of the security. All access passes would be nice, but I can make do without it, and a distraction should probably do." She was developing a plan, but it wasn't quite there yet. "But for this morning I just want to look around the public area of the Senate building. When do you think you'll have everything ready?" Kuru just nodded. There was a plan for this.

"I can probably get some fake ID for you," Tails said. "I'd need busts of you first."

"I can land you security suits," Sonic said as he took a bite out of his chili-dog. "Don't know what we'd do for a distraction, but I can take you over to the senate building. I think they're having a tour at 2:00. It's..." He hesitated as he checked his watch. "Almost 7:30. So we've got a while before you can get there. I would recommend a nap first at a hotel."

"Why not?" Saphire said and nodded.

Not that they needed sleep.

Kuru and Saphire ate their salads slowly while pinging each other, fleshing out their plan, so as to make backups in case something went wrong.

"Eating contest, Miles?" Sonic asked. "I'm faster, so this should go down pretty well."

"You sure about that?" Tails asked with a slight smirk. "Ready, set, go!"

The two boys ate their chili-dogs as fast as they could, the owner of the store bringing in more chili-dogs as they finished one.

Once or twice, Saphire's brows furrowed briefly as she thought about some of the problems in the plan.

It didn't take long before Sonic threw his hands up and called it quits for the eating contest.

"Told you," Miles said smugly as he finished his chili-dog.

"Okay, okay," Sonic said. "Saphire? Kuru? You ready to go? You can think about the plan in the hotel."

"Yeah, we're ready," Saphire said as she and Kuru got up together, Sonic and Tails following.

The ride to the hotel was short, given Sonic's crazy driving. It felt more like a taxi ride in New York than a taxi ride in the District of Columbia. Once they arrived, Sonic turned around in his seat and handed Saphire $200.

"Use it any way you want," he said with a wink. Saphire blinked. Any way she wanted? "Tails and I will be back. I think Shadow has your room ready, so just say your name to the clerk."

"All right. Thank you," Saphire said as she got out of the taxi and into the hotel where the clerk bent over a computer, doing who knows what. She didn't really want to spend the money that Sonic had just given her... maybe for a good book. She sighed. No, there would be time for that later. They would have to hang around town for a little bit after stealing the program, just to show that they weren't involved.

She walked over to the clerk, Kuru on her heels, and asked, "Hello. There should be a room for Kuru and Saphire?"

The clerk looked up from his computer and said in a heavy French accent, "Ah, you are Miss Saphire and Kuru? Yes, there is a room for you." He snapped his fingers and a porter loaded the bags that Saphire and Kuru had. "Follow ze porter and he will guide you to your room."

"Thank you!" Kuru called over her shoulder to the clerk as she waved while they followed the porter to their room. Saphire simply nodded politely.

Once they had their bags unloaded and in their room, Kuru started to wonder about what Saphire would do with the time they had.

"It'd be nice if she'd lighten up," Kuru sighed as Saphire went into another room in their suite. "She loves fiction books, but I never have enough money to get them..."

Kuru wandered around the suite, noting the different things about it such as the two TVs, one upstairs and one in the main entry room, a couch that could shift into a bed, another couch, and a reading and writing table. Inside the room with the table, she found Saphire, holding a note in her hands that made her quirk her eyebrows.

"What's it say?" Kuru asked.

"Enjoy your stay, but don't forget your mission. We have had operatives who have tried to steal this program before, but they failed. Use your minds well. We also have friends in the outside world, not just here at our base," Saphire read off. "Could we stay here for our missions from now on?" Saphire tried to joke and Kuru laughed. "The contact's nicer, at least, but whatever."

"So, we rest here for a bit and then get started, right?" Kuru asked and Saphire shrugged.

Kuru followed Saphire around, getting the feeling that Saphire was looking for some books. She shrugged and separated with Saphire while she grabbed a pen and paper, planning on drawing something.

Saphire walked into a bedroom and looked over a stack of books, smiling fondly at the note on top of them.

"Kemnee wanted these for your own," the note read.

She picked one up and started to read through it, losing track of time. She felt a slight touch on her shoulder and jumped, drawing her saber while holding the book carefully in her other hand.

"NO ONE TOU..." She blinked as soon as she realized it was Kuru, who was slightly surprised and giving an inquiring look. "Oh... Sorry." Sheepishly, Saphire stored her ZSaber in its holster. "Yes?"

"Busts for ID's?" Kuru asked and Saphire nodded.

When did Sonic and Tails get back?

She walked into the room as Tails fiddled around with a camera as Sonic lounged on the couch only to suddenly jump back up and fling open a cabinet under the TV.

"Hey! They've got a PS50!" Sonic exclaimed as Saphire took a position in front of Tail's camera that looked fairly complex.

"Sweet, Sonic," Tails said sarcastically. "Okay, Saphire... wait. First, get into this security uniform," Tails said, handing Saphire and Kuru the uniforms.

After they had changed, Saphire automatically stood in the previous position that she was in.

"All right. Hey, Saphire? You mind smiling a little bit?" Tails asked as he worked with the camera some more.

Saphire suppressed a sigh and put on the best smile that she could whip up. Tails quickly took the picture and looked it over as Saphire started to walk away.

"Kuru, you're next," Tails said.

Saphire watched Sonic as he sat down on the couch and started to play a racing game on the PS50.

"He's pretty relaxed for being a Hunter," she noted in her mind. "Maybe life under Ike isn't so bad?"

"All right! Hurry and get dressed so that way we can get down to the job," Tails said, handing Saphire and Kuru their uniforms.

"_Sis? Is our plan even ready?"_ Kuru asked tentatively.

Saphire mulled it over in her mind for a while. _"I think so. We can improvise. We've had to do it all these years."_

Saphire and Kuru quickly changed into their uniforms and stood in front of Tails as he looked them over, making slight adjustments to the uniform as necessary.

"I think... we're ready," Tails said with a smile. "Sonic? Ready to go?" The clicking from the controller was the only response. "SONIC!" Tails yelled.

"Huh? What? Oh, yeah!" Sonic said, jumping up and quickly turning the game off.

"_Boys,"_ Saphire pinged.

"That's a really good game!" Sonic said with an awkward grin.

Tails sighed as the group walked back down the stairs into the taxi that Sonic drove around. The trip to the Capital was filled with escape routes in Saphire's mind, though Kuru might have been thinking about it as well. If she was, she didn't say anything.

"Ready to go?" Tails asked as they drove up to the Capital.

Saphire nodded her consent and stepped out of the car. Calmly, she followed Tails into the building, Sonic and Kuru trailing after her. A broad shouldered man met them as they entered, his dark suit creased neatly.

"You the new recruits?" he asked, his voice deep.

Saphire nodded with a firm gaze.

"That's one of our operatives, so don't be worried to ask him about anything," Tails said. He and Sonic stepped out of the building, driving off again at a risky speed.

It was better than Saphire had expected. They weren't alone to figure out a plan. They had someone with them. Not only that, their defenses weren't calculated to handle her deft hand. She had been steadily hacking into the system. Though it wasn't like she was changing anything. She was just watching the network, seeing everything and mastering where everything was. She could only get caught if she _did _something.

She was only listening to their guide partially as he led them through. Something about a door that said toxic fumes and to keep out, and that she and Kuru would be guarding the Constitution.

They reentered the room that held the Constitution, the guide finished with giving them information.

"Make sure that no one sticks their nose on the glass. Also make sure that they don't bring drinks or food in. You can execute your job as soon as you're ready," the tall man said, his height daunting to Saphire's own short height.

"Thank you, sir," she said. It was an ambiguous statement that could be translated by him without implying anything threatening to other listening ears.

_So we'll guard the Constitution, then slink off for a break and sneak around, _Saphire thought. _Good thing even if they didn't get a distraction I could make enough mayhem to hide our presence even with the limited control of my sneak-hackers._

She checked over her shoulder at Kuru and nodded. Kuru was busy messing around with her nanites, making an energy shield. A small one. It probably wouldn't work.

They took their places behind the barrier that separated the tourists and the Constitution, following their orders. Well, mainly it was Saphire that did the talking. Kuru was too nice to talk in a tough voice. Saphire was much colder.

Time passed and the man returned, carrying a pair of small earphones. "You may want these," he said, watching the line of tourists as they passed the Constitution.

"Thanks," Saphire whispered, putting one of the earphones in her ear. The guard nodded and stood still for a time, watching the crowd, then left down a hall that housed the statues of presidents that had passed.

Saphire watched the crowd with a scrutinizing eye, watching for anyone that got too close.

She found one quickly. A curious child was leaning in close to the glass, pushing the barrier away slightly.

"Hey, kid, move back," Saphire said, employing her years at the regulators to give her the right gruffness.

The child looked up at Saphire, confused. Her confusion quickly vanished and instead smiled widely at Saphire. The gruffness melted away and Saphire's mouth twitched. _Dang kids..._ Couldn't stay mad at them.

"Saphire and Kuru. Are you there?" a gruff voice asked. The same voice of the man that had escorted them around. Kuru grunted in the affirmative, although it seemed rather feminine.

"Yeah." Saphire watched the child move on, wishing that they could put their plan into effect once there weren't so many people around. No one should get hurt in this mission. Or at least keep injuries at a minimum. But there was no way that they could make sure to keep everyone away.

"Good. When you're ready, let me know and I'll provide a distraction. Sonic and Shadow will help out."

Some more time ticked away and Saphire had finally managed to obtain admin rights to the network system. She began to dig around, looking for information, only half paying attention to what was going on around her. The data that was in her subconscious was taking too much of her processing.

Found her.

Saphire began prying carefully at the cage of Okami's sister, but quickly met up with a firewall. One that couldn't be bypassed without generating an alarm.

The kids were gone at least, and that seemed like the most opportune time to launch the distraction. Hopefully, everything would go according to plan.

"Lets go," Saphire said into the small microphone that the earpiece provided.

A voice chuckled over the earpiece, different from the escort's voice. It was Shadow. "Good."

Saphire and Kuru stumbled as a large explosion shook the building, pieces of the ceiling shattering on the ground. Everywhere, people were trying to get away from the mayhem as more explosions rocked the building. Another sound prevailed over the others. A frightful sound.

The gun clicked and machine gun fire followed, shooting in a hallway to the left of Saphire and Kuru's position. A voice called over an intercom system.

"Explosions! Everyone evacuate! Save the senato–..." It was cut off by another explosion.

"_Saphire! Get it! Now!_" Shadow's voice yelled over the earpiece.

Saphire dragged Kuru to her feet and ran down the way that the escort had showed them, having a vague remembrance of the path that the guide had taken.

The hall that held the target door was already beginning to fill with guards. Saphire and Kuru stopped suddenly and barely managed to drop below a volley of gunfire.

Two blurs, one blue and the other black, shot into the hallway. The blue one was Sonic, plowing through everyone with his fists and feet. Shadow was much more unorthodox, using a machine gun to cut the guards down.

Saphire grimaced and stood up, Kuru by her side. "Couldn't you have just knocked them out?"

"Saphire! You shouldn't encounter much resistance now!" Shadow bellowed, cutting down a guard by breaking his back. Apparently he didn't hear her, but she couldn't blame him. It was loud everywhere what with all the explosions.

Saphire moved towards the door as Kuru waved gleefully at Shadow before following. Saphire frowned as she gripped the handle. Sometimes Kuru freaked her out with her indifference towards death.

The firewall quickly fell away underneath Saphire's barrage, coming down as easily as it was to open the door to the "toxic room". She released her own beast into the program that held Okami's sister, leaving it to deal with the firewall in whichever way it wanted. The only thing that was important was that Saphire got the program. She had copied and buried the files pertaining to its research, so she could know what she had given them, but that wasn't what she wanted it for.

Upgrades were hard to come by for her and Kuru, so she had ended up making them from any and all gifts that happened to come their way.

She lightly touched the program and it instantly reacted, bristling its feathers. It was shaped like a humanoid falcon, its red plumage dulled by the computer data it was in.

"What're you doing?" it screamed. "Leave me alone!" A powerful burst of fire emanated from it, singeing the fur of Saphire's beast as it did something to the firewall. Saphire never knew what that thing was doing most of the time. Hot steam sprayed from small cracks in the ground around Saphire's beast, the pain filtering through to Saphire. Her beast growled.

"Master simply wanted to give you a choice in your fate," the beast said calmly, but with a dangerous undertone. Geysers spurted to life from the cracks in the ground. A fresh wave of pain washed over her monster and herself.

Saphire watched for other ways to grab the program, growling to herself. "I still can't believe I'm working with kidnappers." She pulled her beast back in after it was done with the firewall. She didn't want to leave it out there for too long.

She projected her own self in front of the program, forming an energy shield to protect her from the fire. Her form flickered. "Okami sent me... or perhaps you know him as Gregar? He wanted me to free you. If you truly wish to stay here, then so be it, however."

_But... who's on the good side? _Saphire thought. There was no way to tell. _Who's on the evil side? What did those words truly even mean?_ It didn't matter. She just wanted to give the thing a choice.

She could barely hear Shadow calling out to her, telling her about the dangerous situation he was in and telling her to retreat. This would have to be done fast.

"Okami?" the creature asked, its face mostly concealed by a helmet representing a beak. A mask covered the lower half of its face. "Yes. Brother... Traitor."

"No. Not traitor. Escapee..."

Saphire threw down a small program at the program's taloned feet. It was a restore program that she had made for cases like this. Cases where a reploid or a program had been messed with. It wouldn't get rid of the problem, but would allow her to think without interference.

"Take the program if you want, do what you want with it. Just know this... you're already different from what you used to be."

She returned to her main cyber form, trying to isolate the program, but there were heavy security measures still there and, judging by Shadow's cries which were more audible, they were in big trouble. She sighed. A failure wasn't out of the question. "Got it, sir."

Saphire pulled out of the program and dropped to her knees, electric pulses streaming through her legs. They wouldn't cause her to explode as powerful pulses had the potential to, but she had too much energy.

"Kuru, lets move," Saphire said, forcing the energy out in a discharge as she stood. Kuru moved ahead as Saphire walked behind her, using the wall as a support. If anything, the program was now isolated by the fact that almost every computer in the room was fried. Kuru was insulated, so the electricity didn't affect her.

Shots fired to Saphire's side. She turned her head as Sonic skidded to a halt in front of her and Kuru. He was wounded and bleeding, but it was nothing fatal.

"Thought you might want these," he panted as he held out two pistols. Saphire looked at the gun disdainfully. Kuru didn't seem pleased with them either. Sonic shrugged and holstered them, pulling out his own. A few officers rounded the corner that he had come from and he quickly shot them down. "Follow me and watch our backs. The way that I came is impossible to go through now."

He walked carefully up to an intersection, pistol held in front of him. Voices crowded the passage to their left as well as their right.

"Keep them from escaping!"

"They can't go now!"

Sonic fired a few rounds in both directions and grimaced as he barely avoided getting his right arm shot.

"This is bad," he said, blind firing around the corner.

Maybe. But Saphire was still on the network. "I don't think it'll be a problem," she said blatantly. She could find out a lot of things from the network, such as hidden doors. It was illuminated in her mind as a dark pink. "They don't expect me to be as good as I can, and there's a trap door about sixty feet ahead on your right."

Still, Saphire worried about herself. She was still leaning against the wall for support. Her repair system hadn't kicked in after that program's onslaught.

Kuru drew her knives. "Sis? You okay?"

"Yeah. No permanent damage."

"Saphire." Saphire looked up at Sonic. "I can't get a hold of Shadow." Saphire nodded grimly.

"Come out with your hands behind your head!" a guard shouted.

Sonic gripped her arm tightly. "Listen, I'll cover your back. Just run for that trap door," he said quietly.

Saphire could see what he was feeling. It was evident in his eyes. He was afraid. Afraid that he wouldn't make it to see another day. She resisted his orders for a brief moment, but she had to relent. It was the only way that they would be able to make it out alive.

She nodded, readying herself to run. A loud whistling noise filled the chamber and the guards began to clamor amongst themselves. Saphire didn't even need Sonic to tell her that now was the right time to run.

She burst into the passage filled with officers, hers and Kuru's hands shifting into busters. Their busters blazed to life and dropped the officers in front of them. She could hear Sonic hitting the officers behind them and shots flew by all around them. Saphire winced as a few hit her.

"Saphire, this is Tails. You're going to need to get outside. I'll take you in our aircraft once we're there," Tail's voice said into the earpiece.

Some of the guards pulled out swords. Most were cut down as Saphire pulled out the legendary Z-Saber. She rushed towards the rest of them, only a few remaining. Those were the last ones.

She looked back at Sonic and the people he had to take care of. Kuru fired a few shots at the officers in front of him, dropping them.

Saphire cut down the last officers and drove her blade into the trap door, forcing it open. She put one leg in and looked back. Sonic...

"Saphire! Don't worry about me!" Sonic called over his shoulder, taking a shot to his waist. He retaliated against the officer and took a few quick steps towards Saphire. "I'll be there, right behind you."

There was nothing she could do except hope that Sonic made it in with them. She dove through the door. It was a plain passage that led to some stairs. The stairs led up to the main floor. Judging by what the network was telling her, it led back to the Constitution room.

She emerged into the room and marveled at the drastic changes that had happened in only a few minutes. Most of the roof was gone, statues lay shattered on the ground, pictures hung loosely on the wall, and the floor was partially shattered. No time for wondering though.

"Keep moving, please," Sonic's voice said from behind her. Good. At least Sonic was still with them.

And soon the guards were too. They were wielding their swords this time in both hands. A large plane rested outside of the capital, hovering above the ground. Assumably, it was Tails. If they could get to the plane, everything would be all right.

"Saphire!" Kuru screamed.

Saphire threw her blade up in front of her, weakly blocking a guard's sword as it bore down on her. Sonic was backing away and dodging blades as he fired into the guards.

"I've got your back, Saphire!" Sonic yelled. Saphire nodded and took one last strike at a guard, not caring whether she hit or not. She just needed to distract him long enough for her to get away. She turned to run.

"Wait!"

Saphire spun around. The guard had recovered quicker than she had anticipated and was already attacking her again. She began to pull her sword up to block his attack, but, by the time her blade got there, he would already hit her.

She barely had time to react as Sonic's body was flung in front of hers, taking the full brunt of the blow. "_Sonic!_" Sonic fell limply to the ground, a deep wound in his chest. He chuckled weakly as he pulled out an oval object.

"Thought... I told you to go," he said weakly. He looked up at the guard. The guard stood still as though stunned from hitting Sonic instead. Saphire quickly fired a burst of energy into him and he fell. "Catch!" Sonic threw the oval object into the air and another guard caught it in his hands.

_Grenade!_ Saphire thought. She grabbed Sonic by his shirt and quickly dragged him away, using some energy she had stored previously. A part of her felt bad about dragging him, but... he was already dead...

Saphire fired her buster into the crowd as she withdrew, only breaking into a full sprint once the grenade exploded.

Kuru was already in the aircraft which was indeed controlled by Tails. She was sitting in the back of the ship's cockpit with an open seat in front of and to the side of her.

"I got him!" Tails called out, reaching out and grabbing Sonic as Saphire handed him up. "Kuru, can you buckle him up?" Kuru nodded as Tails pulled Sonic over to the empty seat to her side. "Saphire, you sit by me."

Saphire quickly climbed up a rope ladder into the empty spot by Tails, her mind half numb. She had just watched someone _die_. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence, unfortunately, but she had never been able to get over it. Was it best that she still cared about those nice people that had died to keep her alive?

"This might get crazy," Tails said as the cockpit closed and the large aircraft lifted into the air.

"What're those?" Kuru asked, pointing out at some large vehicles carrying large missiles.

"Mobile missile launchers," Tails said, increasing the forward thrust. "Everyone buckled in?"

Saphire stiffened. She made a quick account of everything below. There were some galleons in SWAT vests and seven missiles launchers. They had seven chances to get shot down.

"Saphire, See that joystick in front of you? Operate that to control a guided missile. It's easy besides the speed that the missile moves at. Just press the trigger and guide the missile via that screen in front of you." Saphire placed her hand on the joystick and twisted it around.

"Right." She watched the screen rotate until it centered on the Galleons. "Do you mind if I try to get those Galleons?" This would be easier than fighting them hand-to-hand. They were hard to beat, but not impossible. Now it was going to be much easier.

She moved part of her consciousness into the ship as Tails began to give Kuru an order. She needed to be read the ship's control panel and know what she could do. She became aware of the ship beeping to warn them about a missile locking on to them.

"Galleons aren't our problem." Saphire heard Tails say.

The beeping became a solid beep and she felt the ship lurch around and flares being released. She refocused her missile on one of the missile launchers, but another missile launcher was already firing at them.

She could feel herself become disconnected from reality, the strain of Tail's maneuvers becoming too much for her system. He repeated maneuvers, running out of flares about half way through the missile assault. By now, Saphire was struggling to stay conscious.

"Almost done!" he shouted. Saphire disconnected from the ship, watching her vision fade, only illuminated by a missile flying past. "Last one!"

Saphire's voice choked inside of her. She wanted to warn him, but it was too late. He was already reaching for a button and performing another maneuver. She wanted to scream, but control eluded her.

In the end, consciousness eluded her.


	3. Changing

There was something wrong about this place. It was threatening. Or... was it? Maybe it was the reluctance of leaving Cain City to keep running from the Assassin Hunters.

No one had tried to stop him on his way up here, though they wouldn't even have had the chance since he did it while no one was looking. There was something about the wind at the top of a skyscraper that soothed his robotic soul. But peace was the last thing that he was feeling at the moment.

_Maybe I was wrong to leave. I shouldn't have left Kemnee alone..._ He paused, regretting all of his actions that he had done. _I shouldn't have lost hope... I... abandoned him when he needed me the most._

Why did it always take so long for people to realize the consequence of their actions? Eva and Venniece had left, possibly beyond his control, but he could've made sure that Kemnee was taken care of.

The whirring of blades brought him back and Shouji glanced over his shoulder. He dropped to the roof, avoiding a premature death by getting sucked into the engine of a fighter class Maverick Hunter aircraft.

"Stupid kid," Shouji muttered, standing up as soon as the plane passed. It struck him odd as to why a Maverick Hunter would be flying that low to the ground. Maybe something was wrong, and Shouji had to find out what was going on.

He followed the most direct course of the planes as he could, running across roofs and jumping between buildings, a feat impossible by any human standard. The only way he could do this was through the mechanics that he was built with. Warfare mechanical parts, an odd feature of his. As if he was made for something more than just the plain civilian life he had lived before he was drafted into the Assassin Hunters.

The chase soon ended, having lost sight of the planes and the general direction that they were going. He quietly cursed. Losing a target was always annoying. But what did he expect? They were planes. Not simple prey that was on...

He caught himself.

_Did I really just think of something as... prey?_ he thought, stunned at his own insensitivity. People should never be thought of as animals. Not something to be hunted and killed. No, they were much more than that. And yet... that's what he had been doing in his time as an Assassin Hunter, wasn't it? Isn't that what the Assassin Hunters were all about? To hunt people down like animals without a second thought?

He hadn't been in there that long and he was already thinking like this? When had it even started?

His memory was in excellent condition, despite taking those few knocks by falling from the Ride Chaser during his clash with the blue-haired girl, but this part seemed to elude him...

_What was her name?_ ...

Saphire. And her sister's name... Her sister wasn't as memorable. He just remembered Saphire yelling at her that one time when she had chided him. Ah, what was her name?

It took a little searching through his archives, but he eventually found her name. Kuru... It was handy that he kept things like this in storage memory. Everything that he had stored there was so vivid. Some hurt him deeply. He slowly picked through the files containing when Eva and Venniece had supposedly split ways with him and Kemnee.

Another file was his torture inside of the Assassin Hunters. It was untouched for the most part. He had only gone over it a couple of times, about five times, although that was almost immediately after his torture. It was never looked at again after that. He already knew the visions of Eva and Venniece's betrayal weren't real, of course, but the imagery had startled him.

"I didn't expect you to come here."

Shouji turned, not recognizing the voice. He frowned. The boy looked about his age, slight of build, his face half covered in a battle helmet. He wore the stealth Maverick Hunter clothing with one slight change: the emblem on his shoulder. It was a symbol different from those found on the Maverick Hunters.

Lightly, Shouji's fingers touched the longsword's hilt that he kept underneath his cloak. He was paranoid, but not to a fault. The world that he lived in was dangerous, unlike the lives of humans who could relax for the most part.

"Assassin Hunter?" Shouji questioned, crouching to prepare for a sudden maneuver if this newcomer decided to attack.

The boy laughed, though it had a cruel twist to it. He stepped forward and Shouji did the opposite, just to keep a little distance between them. At this movement, the boy frowned and the red eye, that wasn't concealed, narrowed.

"You don't know who you are, do you?" Spider said softly, almost as if he was disappointed.

A strange question. _What are you getting at?_ Shouji thought, yet something stirred inside of him. A warmth. As if he had a slight understanding. Not one that he knew, but one more like... knowing something from a dream. Something that was so distant, yet it was there.

"I know who I am," Shouji said.

The boy scoffed and sauntered about two arms' length away from Shouji's side. Shouji watched him carefully. The gadget on the boy's arm looked suspicious. The slender kid's back turned to Shouji, a foolish maneuver... or a trick. He was resting his elbows on the edge of the building, the breeze blowing his hair sideways over till it bent over his helmet. Shouji straightened.

"Why did you come?" Shouji asked, low and cold. Had this kid seen him before? Most likely, from the equipment, this stranger was either an agent for some government, or he was an Assassin Hunter. But there was no hidden blade. Either he was one of the lucky ones that had it removed, or he wasn't one at all.

"I was brought here because of you, Shouji," the boy said calmly. "I've been tracking you down ever since I lost my last target." Shouji pulled his longsword out slightly. This one must be eliminated... "My objectives were changed that day, so I was supposed to track you." Shouji stepped forward, hesitant to backstab the kid.

_Whoever he is, he's not on my side! Just kill him!_ Shouji thought.

"I was tracking Eva and Venniece before I came for you."

His steps and actions were quick, bringing the boy's face close to his own, his hand holding the boy by the collar of his shirt. The boy was perfectly calm, almost relishing the fact that he had caught Shouji's attention.

"_Where are they_?" Shouji yelled, a fire burning in him. No one that knew about where Eva and Venniece were would get away. Not if he could help it.

They had almost been like family and were suddenly taken...

Kemnee had pleaded for his help, but his plea was ignored. Feeling had been devoid in Shouji during that time, something he regretted. He had lost everyone...

"I'm afraid I'm not sure," the boy said, grinning. "You see, I kinda lost them after taking severe damage from Venniece."

"You _what_?" Shouji yelled, slamming the boy against the hard metallic roof. His fingers clutched the stranger's neck tightly. The stranger choked out some unintelligible phrase while trying to pry his fingers off.

The fire inside Shouji grew hotter and he held on with an even tighter grip.

Scum like this shouldn't live. He had their location and he had _lost_ them. There was no forgiveness for him in this life, nor in the next, if a next life even existed for all reploids. _Some_ were able to be turned into cyber-elves. Others just seemed to lie down, die, and cease to exist.

Retire wasn't an appropriate word for the death of a reploid. Humans understood their own creations so vaguely.

The stranger squirmed and Shouji snarled.

"If you find them again, you answer to me. If I see you again, and you haven't found them by that time, I _will_ kill you in the most brutal manner possible." His eyes narrowed. More struggling by the kid. "Humans have civil restraints, but us reploids don't have any obligation to follow them."

He spun around and let go, uncaring for the damage that the kid might take upon impact with the roof. The kid spun through the air, landing with amazing grace on his feet like a cat, despite the prolonged absence of oxygen in his system, a material that now even reploids needed. Research of the human system had seemed to provide clues as to how a reploid could use energy more efficiently.

Maybe it was also a ploy by the humans to make reploids more vulnerable. Those humans were always doing something like this to limit the true potential of reploids.

Calmly, he walked towards the weakened reploid, watching its discouraged face. _Prey..._ His sword rung as he drew it out of its scabbard from beneath his white cloak, its blade like silver. He pulled the sword back, readying for the fatal swing that would end the man.

And yet... something made him pause. The stranger's face... the face of fear... The face that was only for the hopeless... something he vaguely remembered. Screaming. ... Always screaming. ... Always pleading... pleading for someone to save them before their eyes shut for the last time. ... The people he had killed... Men... Women... Children... All of them had that face as they watched his blades flashing for that brief moment.

The face of fear was general, indiscriminate of gender, race, or ethnicity.

His sword hung limply in his hand, all of the strength gone.

No, he was more than someone who killed on instinct. _Even reploids must follow the rules of conduct..._ he concluded, sheathing his sword.

"Leave me alone," he said, turning from the stranger's confused face. "That is all I ask. But if you don't, I will hunt you and kill you."

A pause.

"We'll see who kills who first."

Shouji spun around with a yell, lashing out blindly, but his suddenly drawn blade only cut thin air, the stranger already gone. Shouji became still, breathing slowly. He muttered a curse and hit a nearby pole with his fist, denting the metal. His head bowed.

Finally, he looked up. Back the way he had come. Back to Cain City, home of the Assassin Hunters.

_Kemnee... Saphire..._ He chuckled in his thoughts. _Kuru... Eva... Venniece... I'm coming to you... and I won't hold back..._

His fist clenched.

_Not this time._


End file.
